Red Sox, Boston media aren’t exactly getting along

If you looked at the Red Sox clubhouse objectively, would it seem like a healthy and functional work environment? I don’t get the impression that it’s very pleasant, given how the infamous Boston media is looking for ways to escalate the “Bobby V is a terrible manager for this team” meme, with great fervor.

It became too apparent when Terry Francona was let go last year, following their infamous September collapse, reports came out slamming Tito for his personal life issues, that was used to imply a lack of leadership in the clubhouse. The hiring of Bobby Valentine was not taken with a positive reaction, and ever since the media hounds have developed a narrative that the Sox are terribly mishandled in every possible situation.

The latest Red Sox controversy comes in the form of Josh Beckett playing golf before missing a start. The Bostonians who eat this TMZ reporting up, can come to their own conclusion that Beckett is lazy, and clearly doesn’t care about his team, and it’s not as if he’s unfamiliar with being mired in a mini-in season overreaction. Golf is the least dangerous sport to play on an off day, it’s not as if he was playing full-contact NFL, pickup Basketball (see: Terrell Suggs), or Cricket.

The quotes by Bobby V in the article clearly sound like someone who isn’t policing his own adult players on their off days, god forbid. And to be honest, if I were Beckett, I would want to remove myself from that toxic environment as much as possible. Since he’s already been bashed for the chicken-and-beer fiasco, he owes no allegiance to anyone in the media in terms of cooperation, or having to answer for every move he makes off the field.

When you remove hyper-competitive athletes from their game, they’ll find something else to fill the void. It’s no accident that you see stories of top tier conditioned athletes injuring themselves in what would seem like a simple, casual hoops game, they still play on another level. So no, I don’t think Beckett was in the wrong to play Golf, and if he severely hurt himself while doing it, then it’s highly unfortunate for himself and the team.

Any reasoned Red Sox fan should be taking these stories with a grain of salt, because anything that fits the narrative that Bobby V is bad will get more play, but when the team goes on a win streak, those voices won’t be so loud.

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